


Voltron: Defend the Legend

by eekzley



Series: Voltron Swap AU [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Australian Coran (Voltron), Blue Paladin Keith, Cuban Lance, Eventual Romance, Gay Keith (Voltron), Human Allura, Human Coran, Korean Keith, Nonbinary Lance (Voltron), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Lance (Voltron), Samoan Hunk (Voltron), TOO MANY FUCKING TAGS, Trans Keith (Voltron), Voltron Swap, klance will happen i promise, not so accidental murder, p sure two people are killed in this first episode alone oops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2019-11-19 00:47:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18128753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eekzley/pseuds/eekzley
Summary: Present day, the Galra Empire's path of conquest and search for Voltron has led them to Earth's solar system. A group of space pilots – Coran, Keith, Lance, and Hunk – discover the Blue Lion and immediately get swept up into the Galran War. They meet Prince Matt and Coronet Pidge, as well as their advisor, Shirogane. They become the new Paladins, and reunite the five lions to form Voltron, beginning their fight to liberate the universe from the Galra Empire.





	1. Alliance Anew

“Hunk, I'm all for sneakin’ out late, but I'm not sure it's worth it if you're just planning a movie date”

 

A hand shushed Keith, Hunk watching his computer screen with intense concentration, almost fogging his glasses in doing so. The screen was littered with different open channels, numbers and symbols scrolling through at a rapid pace. Carefully, he grabbed the headphones plugged into the laptop that were on his head and pressed one of the speakers to Keith's ear. 

 

“Shut up and listen.”

 

Keith’s brows knit tight, squinting as he listened to… Some garbled noise. It sounded like  _ something _ , too organized to be complete gibberish. It sounded like speaking, but Keith couldn't make anything out, no matter how hard he listened. 

 

“What is this? There's too much…  _ Talking _ , I can't hear anything clearly.”

 

“Alien radio chatter I've been picking up. Listen for a bit, though. Closely.”

 

“Aliens? That’s just…” Keith trailed off as he heard an oddly clear word, reverberating louder and louder through the noise. “They're repeating something.”

 

“Yeah.  _ Voltron _ . It's been going wild tonight. It's-It's been a common word across the  _ galaxy,  _ well past Kerberos.”

 

Suddenly, Keith’s expression softened. 

 

“Hunk…” 

 

“She’s out there. I know she’s alive, Keith.”

 

“I…” He paused for a moment, a bit of pain in his heart before he nodded and gently smiled at Hunk. “The chatter, Voltron… You think it can have something to do with Kerberos?”

 

“I don’t know, but…” His thought was caught momentarily to himself, Keith’s eyes widening as his eyes pointed towards the sky.

 

“Uh, Hunk?”

 

His eyes followed the same direction Keith was gawking at, grabbing his binoculars and pointing them towards the menacing light falling towards the Earth, too close for comfort.

 

“It’s not any of our ships, Keith. It’s one of  _ theirs _ .” Hunk hissed, grabbing his equipment and shoving it into his bag quickly. “Come on, we have to check it out!”

 

“Woah, woah, what?!” But the Samoan boy was already making a run for the stairs, leaving Keith to sprint after him in a huff.

 

~~~~

* * *

 

“You run a bit too fast for someone as big as you are, what” Hunk shoved his computer at Keith, nearly knocking him flat on the sand.

 

“Shh! Help me get through the feed, and  _ maybe  _ if you kept up on your cardio, weight wouldn’t be that much of an issue as long as you have a good pace.” Hunk snided as he looked through the binoculars, scanning the tents below their position. Keith struggled, managing to pull up audio but no video from inside the tent.

 

“Huh. How do I get through the feed?” 

 

“I’ll get that, just be the lookout. Here.” And with that, Hunk hastily placed the laptop in his lap and handed off his binoculars.

 

Keith muttered a sarcastic  _ thanks  _ before viewing the area himself. A few officials were at the front of the tents, some he recognized as drill sergeants or teachers. Others out of Garrison uniforms were in quarantine suits, the ones out front of the big tent holding rifles. A few of the suited people were going into the tent. 

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Hunk managed to finally get video of the inside. Keith gasped as he turned his head fully to look at the footage, playing live for both boys to snoop in on.

  
  
  


“Holy  _ shit _ ,” Keith breathes. “He’s not” His thoughts are cut off from finishing that sentence, almost forgetting what Hunk and him were talking about not even twenty minutes prior. 

 

But Hunk  returns a shaking sigh. “Yeah.”

 

From the feed, a man is strapped to a table, thrashing around and sending his orange ponytail flailing behind his head. 

 

“Coran, settle down, we’re just going to need to run a few tests” One of the suited men says loud, attempting in vain to calm him. Coran only screams louder.

 

“No! You don’t understand, they’re coming after us! They’re coming to kill us all!”

 

None of them seemed to be listening, ignoring his pleas. “Do you know how long you’ve been gone?” The man continued as if the conversation was going how he wanted it. 

 

“Who cares?” Coran snarled. “Months, years, we don’t have time! They’re coming here for a  _ weapon _ and they’re on their way! We need to find  _ Voltron  _ before they do!”

 

“Voltron!” Hunk and Keith whisper together, looking at each other with shocked faces.

“His legs seem to be replaced by some cyborg prosthetics, sir.” Another suited man quips. 

 

“Put him under until we know what they can do,” the only suited woman in the room replies, “Keep him stable”

 

“Don’t you dare!” Coran’s screams become shrill, his thrashing only getting worse. “Don’t put me under, please! You don’t understand, there’s no time!”

 

He tried protesting more, but a mask was pressed firmly onto his face, Coran’s panicked hyperventilating only making him breathe in the anesthesia faster. Watching Coran lose conscious involuntarily was like looking at a dog being put down, a disgusting feeling left in Keith and Hunk’s stomachs.  

 

“They’re not even asking about the rest of the crew…” Hunk said softly, distressed.

 

“They’re not listening,” His classmate put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, “He was leading the mission, wasn’t he?”

 

As if Keith’s word clicked, Hunk’s face curled into an expression of determination. “We’re getting him out.”

 

“Hunk, we ain’t just gonna waltz in there, you saw the guards. Maybe we could tunnel in?”

 

“No, that’ll take too long, disguising ourselves would take a lot of time we don’t have, either.”

 

“So we need a distraction, like” Keith was suddenly cut off by loud explosions sounding from the distance, both boys recoiling at the noise and laying on the ground defensively. 

 

“Oh, no, this is it! They’re here!” Hunk cried out frantically, but Keith peered up, scrambling to the binoculars as he saw Garrison jeeps driving away from the tents. 

 

“No,” He said with a laugh bubbling in his chest. “ _ That’s  _ our distraction!”

 

From the distance, a hoverbike sped to the tent, sand kicking up in the air behind them as night fell. Keith couldn’t keep his eyes away from the driver. 

 

“ _ Lance _ , that son of a bitch”

 

“Oh, stop drooling, this is our chance! Come on!” 

 

Once again, Hunk ran off, sliding off the edge of the hill to speed towards the entrance of the tent. Keith could only follow with a loud whoop, tumbling down the hill clumsily.

 

The masked figure made their way into the tent, quick and quiet. Upon entering the quarantine area, two guards took notice of the approach.

 

“You can’t be in here!” The woman shouts, only to get a swift and strong kick to her chest, sending her body flying back. Her head  _ thunks!  _ on the edge of the table before she lands, completely limp. 

 

The other suited man looked down at her in horror, snapping his attention back to the intruder. Drawing his fist back, the man ran at the figure, swinging hard. His fist caught in their hand, their grip tightening and pulling him to the ground with a painful  _ thud! _ As soon as the man thought to get up from the floor, a shoe stomped the back of his head harshly. A loud crunching and shattering glass sound emerged from his face, bones cracking under pressure. As the figure removed their foot from the back of his skull, blood began pooling out around the man’s head, pieces of glass littering the ground. 

 

The third man backed away from the table, hands held up. 

 

“Don’t come any closer!” He warned with a quivering voice, the figure only stepping closer, fists clenched at their sides. 

 

Tripping over chords sent the last suited man into a frenzy, shrieking as he skittered away, slipping beneath the tent to make his escape. 

 

The intruder rolled their shoulders, carefully stepping over the woman’s body to check on Coran. They finally lowered their bandana from their face, sighing with relief.

 

They grabbed the man’s chin, tilting his head and sending strands of orange hair tumbling off from his face.

 

“Coran?” Lance murmurs.

 

Unlatching Coran from the table, Lance hefted him off, ready to drag him out of the tent before a cowboy-esque teen interrupted them with a flip of his locks, hopping over the bodies on the floor without a care in the world. 

 

“Oh, nope, I got this, bud!” He grabbed Coran’s other arm, balancing him with Lance.

 

“Uh. Can I ask who the hell are you?”

 

“Keith, only the most charming of boys to grace your class. You remember me, don't cha?”

 

“Ri-i-ight,” Lance drawled out with disinterest, “Engineer, was it?”

 

At that, the boy _ Keith _ scoffed. 

 

“WhNo! I’m a  _ pilot _ . We were rivals, y’know… Keith, Lance, neck and neck…” Lance could feel a bit of guilt as they saw the disappointment in his eyes.

 

“Oh, now I remember. You’re that annoying cargo pilot.”

 

“Not anymore, thanks to you washing out. I’m fighter class.”

 

“Congrats.” They sneer, Keith and them moving forward to carry Coran out of the tent.

 

Hunk was paced back and forth, rushing to his teammate as soon as he saw him step out.

 

“Keith, they’re coming back, we have to hurry!”

 

Lance handed off one of Coran’s arms to Hunk. 

 

“Get him on the hover, gotta make sure I know which way my escape route is gonna be.” 

 

The two boys nodded at them, Hunk settling himself at the very back to keep the limp man up. Keith sat in front of Coran, securing the man more in his place. The hoverbike creaked, descending a bit from the weight.

 

“Reckon this bike is big enough for us?” Keith raised a brow.

 

“Fuck no.” Lance said, hopping on the bike despite that, making it jostle. The craft lifted and sped away shakily, Lance sitting a bit off their seat as Keith clung an arm around their waist, the other hand on Coran’s thigh to make sure him and Hunk had a good grip. 

 

“Seems like we fit just fine!” Hunk yelled against the wind. Five jeeps were at a distance, following them through the desert.

 

“I’d rather throw off some  _ unnecessary  _ weight.” Lance argued, squinting as sand flew in their eyes. Of course they had to forget their goggles at home tonight. Nothing could ever be easy.

 

“Yeah! Like” Keith looked around the bike, only seeing Lance, himself, Coran, and Hunk occupying space. “Okay, you’re a sly one, that’s our bad for coming on  _ your  _ rescue mission”

 

“Big man, lean left, please!” They ignored Keith completely, voice as sweet as possible as they shouted to Hunk.

 

The craft turned harshly to the left as Hunk shifted, squealing at the motion. Three of the jeeps turned too briskly, flipping themselves over and hitting other drivers. A couple drifted, somehow avoiding a full crash into the three unlucky vehicles. 

 

Hunk whined, “I hope that killed professor Montgomery for all of our sakes…”

 

“Lean right!” 

 

The craft skid across a canyon wall, the jeeps slamming into one another and sending one careening off the edge. One stopped as if to observe the damage and regain traction, speeding again to catch up to the escaping teens. 

 

Keith looked back, letting out a hysterical giggle at what could’ve been them if they had just missed that turn in the slightest. Looking back ahead, he felt his heart drop.  _ Guess we’re dying today, too, huh? _

 

“A-tah-tah-tah! Lance, Lance, that is a  _ cliff  _ up ahead!” Keith said with adrenaline pumping in his veins, fisting a hand into Lance’s shirt in attempt to get through to them to  _ not fucking drive them off a cliff and kill them all _ .

 

As Hunk and Keith chanted a series of panicked  _ no _ -s, Lance sped up, a wicked smile plastered on their face. 

 

“Yup!” 

 

And like that, they were flying off the edge, the jeep skidding to a stop behind them. 

 

“What are you doing?! This is supposed to be a rescue mission, we never agreed to a suicide-pact!” Keith wailed, knuckles white from holding Lance tight by their shirt. Hunk was squeezed forward, clutching the unconscious man and his own seat like his life depended on it, and it damn well  _ could _ have. 

 

Lance was beaming, pure excitement radiating off their yells back towards their passengers.

 

“Shut up and just trust me!”

 

The ground was getting closer and closer at an alarming rate, everyone holding their breaths as Lance released the gas and pulled up, breaking and speeding again once the bike was level with the bottom of the canyon. 

 

Keith opened his eyes, lifting his face from where it had apparently pressed into Lance’s back in pure fear. His head spun as he looked around, sand whizzing past them as the hover-bike glided across the desert. Surprisingly unscathed and very not dead. 

 

“Lance…” Keith whispered, leaning into their ear. “You ever do that again, and I will choke you out with my own bare hands.”

 

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, cowboy.”

 

* * *

 

At sunrise, a soft orange glow painted the east side of the shack. It was quiet and serene, wind gently blowing Coran’s hair back as he watched the colors of the sky shift with crossed arms. 

 

It felt so nice being back on Earth, he wished he could just stay after everything he’s been through. 

 

From behind him, Lance cleared their throat.

 

“It’s good to have you back, Coran.” They said warmly. 

 

“It’s good to be back, my boy.” The older man smiled at Lance. He’d definitely missed this.

 

“Where were you?”

 

“I wish I could say. I’m still scrambled from everything.” Coran frowned, looking higher up the sky. “I escaped an alien ship, somehow. It’s… All a blur.”

 

“We’ll figure it out, d--” Lance suddenly coughed, looking down at the sand to regain their composure. “Coran.”

 

He just smiled at them, a twinkle in his auburn eyes. Lance stared at the ground, shaking their head. 

 

“We have a lot to catch up on. Let’s go inside.”

 

From inside the shack, Keith and Hunk stared at Lance’s pinboard, strings strewn across from maps, notes, photos and other miscellaneous things that hung on. 

 

“Solid.” Keith nodded in approval.

 

“Of course you’d think so,  _ mothman _ .” Hunk rolled his eyes, hands planted on his hips. “What was it you said you were, mothmantic? Romothic?”

“Don’t you go there!” Hunk was about to get a tongue lashing from the short man, interrupted just in time by Lance and Coran walking in. Keith coughed into his hand, cheeks red from embarrassment as he tried leading a better conversation. 

 

“So, uh, what we’re looking for… What  _ are  _ we looking for?”

 

Coran held out his hand in front of Keith, earning a confused look. 

 

“It’s incredibly rude of me to not introduce myself if you’re all going to be helping look for this, so we should start with that first.” He smiled, curled mustache twitching up with the motion. 

 

“Oh, s-sure!” Keith thrust his hand forward, shaking Coran’s firmly with excitement. “I’m Keith Jeong. Fighter pilot.”

 

Coran nodded and moved his gaze to the other boy, his grin falling as his brows knit. 

 

“And Hunk Niu,” Keith jolted as Coran spoke, staring back at his friend. “You’ve really grown.” 

 

“Yeah, you said…” Hunk sniffed, and Keith realized. “You said you’d see me again when you were back from Kerberos. I didn’t know it would be like this, that you’d be back without” 

 

A crushing hug met Hunk, Coran fighting back his own tears. Lance and Keith shared looks. 

 

“I’m so sorry, Hunk. I never would’ve thought this would happen. I am so, so sorry.” Sobs went muffled against his shoulder, Hunk’s hands trembling as he held on tight to Coran. 

 

Lance made sure to lock Keith’s eyes with their own, pointing to the door with a quirked brow. Keith nodded, slowly sneaking out with Lance. 

 

The leather-jacket clad teen led Keith to sit next to the door, sand still slightly chilled from the night. 

 

“So, your friend… He was Allura’s brother?” Lance asked curiously, hands running through the sand. 

 

“Cousin. They’re really close, though, since they were raised with his parents. Allura’s parents died when she was fifteen.”

 

“I don’t need the whole story, I get circumstances are rough.” They say it almost coldly, making Keith bristle. He crossed his arms defensively, accusing look shooting at Lance.

 

“Sorry, I forgot you’re too good to hear about anyone else but yourself. It’s completely irrelevant to why my  _ best friend  _ is crying on the shoulder of one of the most famous pilots in the world, whom you apparently know  _ very  _ closely.” 

 

“What? You want my sob story, too? Coran adopted me, that’s all there is to it. I don’t know him as well as you think.”

 

“Well, I don’t need the whole story, I don’t  _ give a rat’s ass _ .” 

 

“ _ Keith _ .” Lance warned, lip curling up sideways.

 

“ _ Lance _ .” The other mimicked their tone, glowering.

 

“Will both of you get up? This isn’t the time to be flirting!” Hunk stood by the door, looking irritated with eyes still watery.

 

Keith glared back at Hunk, Lance’s face going pink as they choked on their own words, “I wasn’t! He’s the one!”

 

Coran poked his head out from the door, stern look pointed at both of the sitting teens. 

 

“In here. Now. We found something.”

 

Lance whined, burying their face in their hands. Immediate regret sank into them, much like the sand into their eyes.

 

Now everyone was going to look irritated for this briefing. 

 

* * *

 

Three hours of scanning the desert, three  _ hot  _ hours beneath the unforgiving sun, and they finally made their way into the shade of a cave. 

 

“Oh, thank  _ goodness _ .” Keith groaned, sliding down the wall of the cave. “I’m thirsty.”

 

He looked up, expecting someone to at least respond, but the other three were just staring at the wall behind him with gaped mouths.

 

“What?”

 

Lance pointed a finger to the wall, “Look behind you, man.” 

 

Tilting his head up, Keith slowly registered the faint blue glow. Symbols pulsed and radiated more light across the wall, sending him jolting forward to watch as the glow slowly moved it’s way deeper into the cave. 

 

Keith followed in a trance.

 

Soon enough, his walk turned into a sprint, the blue light only getting brighter and brighter.

 

He couldn’t hear Coran shout, “Slow down!” before the floor beneath his feet shook and started crumbling away. Keith looked down, snapping out of it for only a moment, everyone finally catching up to him--

 

Only to fall through the floor, submerging themselves in a waterfall. 

 

They would’ve screamed if the neon water hadn’t been splashing into their mouths, frantic arms and legs kicking out until they landed at the bottom of the cavern and into a shallow lake.

 

Hunk shot up, nearly slapping Lance in the face as they were about to stand themself. Coran groaned, laying in the puddle. 

 

“Keith! What the heck, man?! Why did you run off like that!” Hunk fixed his lopsided glasses, chasing after Keith, who was already making his way out of the shore with a blank stare forward. His breath caught in his throat as his head began swimming in a voice inside.

 

Lance’s brows furrowed, alarmed by the sudden silence. They tore their eyes away from Keith, eyes widening as they saw what he was following. By now, Coran was already up and splashing his way out.

 

“Hunk…”

 

“What? There’s not a crab on me, is there ?” His eyes roamed behind him, then to where everyone’s gaze fixated on, gasping.

 

The cavern was completely illuminated in blue, light coming from what looked like some sort of  _ bubble _ , containing a giant mecha lion. The lion sat, it’s stare vacant to everyone.

 

Well, anyone but Keith. She was staring at him, beckoning him closer. A request from her is all he needed to obey, slowly making his way to the barrier, hand pressed on it. It felt like… Glass, but tingly. A separation between him and the mecha that was fabricated by a mass of light. He needed to tear down that wall. 

 

“Hey, pretty kitty.” Keith greeted, grinning up at the lion. 

 

The light melted away, the lion’s eyes illuminating yellow. Memories washed over the group like a tsunami, gasps in sync and pupils dilating.

 

“Voltron.” They all hissed beneath their breaths.


	2. Defender of the Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran, Hunk, Lance and Keith meet the Alteans and discuss Voltron.

Next thing he knew, Keith’s arms were catching two falling bodies from the pods in a haze of smoke. He’d gotten a good grip on the taller stranger, but the smaller figure slipped out of his grasp, Lance shouting as they rushed to catch the body

 

“Watch out!” 

 

Blonde lashes fluttered open to look up at Keith, a golden glow to the man’s irises. The breath was nearly stolen out of Keith from the young man’s gaze. 

 

“Who are you? Where… Where am I?” The stranger asked with a soft voice, clinging to Keith’s arms. Was it getting warm in here? Keith was definitely getting warm then. 

 

“I’m Keith, and you’re right here,” Keith’s lips twitched into a grin, eyes sultry towards the man, “in my arms.”

 

Lance scoffed, murmuring to Hunk, “Could barely catch the other one, but  _ go off _ I guess.” Keith glared at them.  

 

“Keith… What a strange name.” The man gasped suddenly, catching sight of something on the side of Keith’s head. “Your ears! What is  _ wrong  _ with them?!”

 

“Huh?” His head tilted in confusion, “Ye’mean the plugs? Look at you, you’ve got goofy earrings yourself, mister… Whoever!” 

 

“The  _ name  _ is Prince Matthew of Altea, and you will respect these jewels!”

 

Lance felt the kid in their arms move, grumbling as she looked over at the two bickering boys. 

 

“The holes in your ears wasn’t what I was referring to, I was referring to ”

 

“Unhand my brother, you round-eared freak!” The gowned teen suddenly launched herself at Keith, tearing him away from the Prince. Somehow, Matthew was left without a scratch as the cowboy was tackled to the ground. 

 

Lance shrugged as Matt looked at them with a raised eyebrow, equally confused at the situation. The Prince returned with his own shrug, calmly making his way to a panel. He placed a hand down on it, a small holographic screen appearing in front of him.

 

“So that’s how that works…” Hunk mused over the Prince’s shoulder. Coran stepped over to stand on the other side of the Prince. 

 

“Excuse me, but may I ask, your highness, why we are here?” 

 

“I was hoping you could answer that,” Matthew frowned, swaying his hand to view files, “How did you even get here?” 

 

“The Blue Lion,” Lance supplied as they pointed a thumb to Keith, who was blocking punches from the elf-ish kid in a dress, “Puss in boots over there helped pilot us here, but that’s giving him a bit too much credit for such a bumpy ride.”

 

The Prince’s frown only fell more, completing the grimace on his face. 

 

“He shouldn’t be able to pilot her, Trigel is the Blue Paladin. Where is she?” 

 

“Who now?”

 

“Trigel…” He says, softer. Matthew seemed to have caught something on the screen, his posture deflating. “Oh, no, this has to be a mistake.” 

 

Coran put a hand on his shoulder, concerned by his expression. “What’s wrong?” 

 

“Ten thousand deca-phoebs. It’s been ten thousand deca-phoebs. Father, he…” The prince froze. 

 

Lance’s attention broke from Matthew, glaring at the two still on wrestling on the ground, their grunts and hushed threats going mostly ignored. They weren’t the only one watching the duel, Lance realized, as suddenly a new stranger walked patiently behind the small teen. He looked older than Coran, long black hair tucked tight into a bun that Lance had only ever seen on samurai(albeit from  _ cartoons _ , but… It was something recognizable), and a long streak of white from his bangs mixed with silver strands. 

 

_ Should I be worried that another alien just popped out, or is this just supposed to happen?  _ Lance, again, just shrugged. The new man gently picked up the small assaulter off of Keith, immediately making her go limp and lazy like a cat. “Pidge, behave yourself.”

 

Matthew turned to the man, talking to him as if he were always there, right by his side. 

 

“Shirogane, Honerva may still be a threat.” 

 

“Hardly a surprise, but still very alarming.” Shirogane, apparently, nodded solemnly. Matthew chewed his lip, more and more irritated. 

 

“It’s been over ten thousand deca-phoebs,” the prince repeated. “And from the looks of it, Voltron hasn’t been active to aid in her empire’s defeat.” 

 

“Honerva… I was her prisoner.” Coran piped up, shocked alien eyes turning to him. 

 

“Prisoner to her  _ empire _ , she can’t still be alive, could she?” Pidge said, eyes wide and searching in disbelief. 

 

Coran shook his head. “She’s looking for Voltron.” 

 

“Of course, the only thing that can defeat her…” Matthew closed the file he was looking through and walked towards an entry to a dark hall, Shirogane silently following. “We need to find all of the lions before Honerva or her empire.” 

 

Lance looked around, surprised to see their three companions silent and even nodding along in agreement.

 

“So we’re just… Rolling with this?”  

 

“Yes. It’s the only choice we have right now, the lion brought us this far,” Coran looked at Lance expectantly, as if everything in that day were supposed to be unquestionable. “Don’t let it be in vain.” 

 

“We couldn’t return if we tried, we don’t even know where we are…” Hunk spoke up, nervous. He was sitting next to the pod which had contained Shirogane, gently rubbing the side of a slowly waking white pitbull. 

 

“Prince Matthew, Pidge, you need to eat.” The older alien man started to head out of the room into the hall, lights illuminating his way the further he walked. Matthew followed and Pidge’s complaints were ignored.

 

“It’s been ten thousand deca-phoebs, I’m not hungry, Shiro.” 

 

“I haven’t eaten since  _ breakfast _ and I’m starving.” Hunk groans, picking up the royal dog to follow everyone filtering out of the pod room.

 

“Probably because of the non-stop nausea. That can f--Uh. Mess with your stomach.” Keith grinned at Lance, intrigued by their avoidance of cursing all of a sudden. 

 

“Damn,” Keith leaned his head back, tapping his fingers against each other as he was mentally counting. “Ten thousand… That’s like, what? One thousand plus ten?” 

 

“ _ Times  _ ten.” Lance provided curtly, receiving a snort from Keith. 

 

“I’m not taking math advice from you, dropout.” 

 

“Keith, as your best friend, I’m gonna have to agree with him there. Your math is absolutely awful.” 

_ Best friend _ , Hunk said.  _ Not after that betrayal _ , Keith would be holding that to him for a good while. For now he settled on pouting at the traitor.  

 

Coran caught up to Matthew, stepping between him and Shirogane. “Your tech… It’s ancient by your standards yet it still surpasses so much of our own technology on Earth, it’s amazing.” 

 

“Alteans have a knack for technology.  _ Had _ , the last of us still are fortunate to have this…” The white pitbull pressed his side against the prince’s leg. “You too, Babe. We’re lucky to have  _ you _ .” Matthew crooned at the dog. 

 

As they all stepped into the bridge of the castle, an alarm blared, red lights flashing around them.

 

Shirogane gasped and rushed to the prince’s side, eyes darting up and looking out of the ship.  

 

“Your highness, a Galra battle ship has set it’s tracker to us!” 

 

“How did they find us?!” Hunk squawked, already behind Keith to use him as a shield. Keith scoffed. 

 

“I don’t know, but I bet it’s Lance’s fault…” 

 

“Say what you want to make you feel better, cowboy.” Lance crossed their arms defensively, curling their lip in a near snarl at Keith. “After getting us stuck on the other side of a  _ wormhole _ .” 

 

“I’ll stick  _ you _ in a wormhole, slickback!” Keith shouted back, Coran immediately turning to their bickering with his own reprimand. 

 

“Stow it, cadets! This isn’t the time to place blame. We’ve got to be a team on this.” 

 

“How long before they get here?” Hunk asked Shirogane. “How fast are their ships?” 

 

Next to him, the smaller one was counting on her fingers, tapping her thumb to each finger as she mouthed number.

 

“Well, if you carry the two… I’d say a couple of quintants until they arrive anywhere close.” 

 

“Good,” Shirogane let out a breath, a bit more relieved. “By the time they get here, the five of you will reform Voltron and defeat Honerva.” 

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. The  _ five of us _ ? I know my math isn’t great, but, uh…” Keith blinked at each person he saw, dramatically tisking. “There’s at least seven of us here, why aren’t we  _ all  _ working together? How did we even decide on five?” 

 

“Voltron is made of five parts, which are the five lions. Only one person can pilot a lion” 

 

“Unless it’s the  _ exception _ ” Pidge said excitedly, Shirogane already pouting at her, 

 

“Pidge, too ambitious,” Matthew cut in. “Lions first, reforming Voltron,  _ then  _ we might get to it. We need to focus.” 

 

“So… Five lions. How are we gonna find all of them?” Lance sat on a stair, looking up at the aliens expectantly. Matthew stood at the center of the bridge, extending his arms in front of him and flicking his wrists. Soft light illuminated the room as a holographic map displayed in the entire room, stars painting the air and going through pillars. 

 

Shirogane pointed at a small speck in the map, everything zooming in fast and revealing a small image of the castle they were in. Nearly at the bottom of the ship, a purple and blue dot blinked slowly, out of sync with one another.  

 

“The Black Lion is in the Castle, and now with the Blue Lion back as well, we really only need the last three.” He carefully flattened his hand against the image and pinched his fingers together, the map going into full view again. 

 

“The Green Lion, the Red Lion, and the Yellow Lion.” Matthew provided. He began moving his arms to scroll through the stars of the map, planets flying past in a flurry. 

 

“Matt is connected to the Lions,” Pidge said, answering the humans unasked question as they all watched the map move with mouths agape. “Thanks to Dad attaching them to his life force.” 

 

Matthew huffed without looking at her. 

 

“Pidge, stop being bitter.” 

 

“I’m not bitter, I’m just  _ useless _ .” As Pidge hissed her last word, Shirogane bristled. 

 

“Pidge, you are vital to Voltron. Without you, we would not have the Yellow Lion.” 

 

“Wait… Seriously?” 

 

“Yes. The pilot must have a mighty heart.” 

 

“What  _ is  _ this?” Keith stepped towards a green dot as the map stilled, bringing his finger up to it.

 

“Coordinates to the remaining Lions,” Shirogane came up behind him to peer at the dot for himself, humming contentedly. “The Black and Blue Lions are here, in the castle. The Black Lion is locked here until the other Lions are all present.” 

 

“One for all…” Keith murmured in a single breath. 

 

“And all for one.” Finished Lance with an exhale. 

 

“Poetic,” Hunk looked between both of them, a slight grin playing on his face. “Isn’t it?” 

 

Shirogane turned to the elder ginger man, his eyes looking through him as if he were searching for something hidden. “Coran, the Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It needs a natural born leader, someone whose team will follow without hesitation.” With an upward tilt of his head, Shirogane looked into Coran’s eyes, watching him fully. “The Lion has chosen you.” 

 

“How can you tell that it’s even chosen me?” Coran blinked at him in surprise, not expecting to be observed closely or commented on. 

 

“Your aura, it’s color is deep and dark, a mark of the Black Lion.” 

 

“You can see our auras?” Keith gawked, excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Are we gonna have a tarot card reading, too?” 

 

Lance groaned in despair, pinching the bridge of their nose.

 

“Keith, I swear"

  
  


“Alteans and other species have some ability in seeing auras, but some are stronger than others.” Matthew flipped his palm over absent-mindedly as he talked, changing the map to display an entirely new array of constellations. “Myself and Pidge can’t see them, but Shirogane has a special knack for it.” 

 

“I can see auras just about as well as I can see the sky.” Shirogane grinned, obviously pleased to mention his talent. 

 

Hunk eyed Shirogane in awe. “Fascinating.”  

 

Shirogane’s grin only widened to a smile, looking at Hunk and deciding easily. 

 

“Hunk, you will pilot the Green Lion. Inquisitive, curious, intellectual and daring.” 

 

“My boy is very much an intellectual, thanks for recognizing that!” Keith whooped, giggling as he wrapped an arm loosely around Hunk’s shoulders. 

 

“The Red Lion is the most temperamental and difficult to master,” Matthew mentioned as he continued searching through the stars. “Fast, agile, but unstable. The pilot needs to rely more on instinct than skill alone.” 

 

Shirogane turned, eyes meeting Lance. His smile faltered a bit as he tried looking through them. The colors around Lance… They were muted, gray and almost colorless. The air around them seemed drained, something amiss… 

 

But the adviser clicked his tongue, squinting and finally seeing a slight  _ spark _ .

 

“That is why Lance will pilot the Red Lion.” Shirogane said with finality.  

 

“This guy?” Keith rolled his eyes dramatically, hoping to get under Lance’s skin a little more as he spoke. “Pretty sure he’s got more temper than Red…” 

 

“ _ Unfortunately _ ,” Shirogane sent a glare toward Keith, earning an offended look from him. “We don’t have the coordinates for the Red Lion.” 

 

“Ten thousand deca-phoebs can wear down on some of our tech…” Pidge sighed dejectedly.  

 

“We’ll find it soon, Shirogane and I will get to fixing it,” Matthew lowered his arms, the map still in the process of disappearing as he turned to face everyone in the room. “Once all the Lions are together, you will form Voltron.” 

 

“The Legendary Defender of the Universe.” Shirogane looked among all the new Paladins, smiling. 

 

A gentle,“Sweet.” escaped from Keith, almost casually. Hunk seemed to finally realize how to speak again, wetting his lips. 

 

“Wait… Okay, so I got that part where we’re flying these bad boys. How do we turn into legs?” 

 

“Is this gonna be a long trip? What if I need to pee? Do aliens have bladders?  _ Do y’all? _ ” 

 

Coran cleared his throat loudly, stepping forward. “We don’t have much time for this. Hunk, you’re with me on the Green Lion expedition. Keith, you and Pidge get the Yellow Lion. If the Red Lion is located, go after it, Lance.” Coran and Lance shared a nod as Matthew clapped his hands together.

 

“In the meantime, I’ll get the defenses going as well. They’ll be sorely needed.” 

 

“I’ll get a pod ready for you two to reach the Green Lion.” Shirogane excitedly said, already bolting out of the bridge through another hallway.

 

“We can only keep wormholes open for about two vargas...” Matthew continued, stretching his hands out again, two glowing spheres coming up from the floor to touch his fingers. “Both planets seem relatively peaceful, so the good news is if you get stuck there, the rest of your life will be lived out in a pretty relaxed setting!” 

 

Pidge squawked as Shirogane grabbed her and Keith’s arms, dragging them to the pods quickly. Keith was about to protest just as Shirogane shoved them into their pod, both hitting their seats with a  _ thud! _ and twin wheezes. Belts slid across their chests and secured them both, any hope to get out immediately stumped

 

The elderly Altean smiled and waved at them as the pod glass closed in front of them.

 

“Have a good trip!” Were the last parting words before the pod was shot out of the ship violently, both passengers yelling.

 

“What the  _ fuck! _ ” Keith shrieked, grabbing Pidge’s wrist. She screamed back, grabbing his wrist in retaliation.

 

“Hey, don’t look at me, I didn’t get the memo either!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i havent checked the word count for this chapter because ive already cut it three times for being too long, this is kind of a pain but this au is my baby

**Author's Note:**

> so this is... half of the first episode  
> if youve noticed, this isn't going to be quite a scene by scene replay of the original voltron, but itll come a bit close since a lot of plot builds up from those scenes


End file.
